Saturday, May 19, 2018

~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~ ^*^*^*^*^ (\ ~~ /) ( \(AA)/ ) (_ /AA\ _) /AA\ ^*^*^*^*^ Attitudes "We find that our old attitudes toward our instincts need to undergo drastic revisions. Our desires for emotional security and wealth, for personal prestige and power, for romance, and for family satisfactions - all these have to be tempered and redirected. If we place instincts first, we have got the cart before the horse; we shall be pulled backward into disillusionment. But when we are willing to place spiritual growth first - then and only then do we have a real chance." Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 114 Thought to Consider . . . I have learned that my actions are far more important than my thoughts. *~*AACRONYMS*~* E G O Easing God Out *~*^Just For Today!^*~* Open From "A Vision for You": "But life among Alcoholics Anonymous is more than attending gatherings and visiting hospitals. Cleaning up old scrapes, helping to settle family differences, explaining the disinherited son to his irate parents, lending money and securing jobs for each other, when justified these are everyday occurrences. No one is too discredited or has sunk too low to be welcomed cordially if he means business. Social distinctions, petty rivalries and jealousies these are laughed out of countenance. Being wrecked in the same vessel, being restored and united under one God, with hearts and minds attuned to the welfare of others, the things which matter so much to some people no longer signify much to them. How could they?" 2001 AAWS, Inc. Fourth EditionAlcoholics Anonymous, pg. 161 *^Daily Reflections^* GIVING WITHOUT STRINGS And he well knows that his own life has been made richer, as an extra dividend of giving to another without any demand for a return. AS BILL SEES IT, p. 69 The concept of giving without strings was hard to understand when I first came into the program. I was suspicious when others wanted to help me. I thought, "What do they want in return?" But I soon learned the joy of helping another alcoholic and I understood why they were there for me in the beginning. My attitudes changed and I wanted to help others. Sometimes I became anxious, as I wanted them to know the joys of sobriety, that life can be beautiful. When my life is full of a loving God of my understanding and I give that love to my fellow alcoholic, I feel a special richness that is hard to explain. Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC. *~*^As Bill Sees It^*~* Give Thanks "Though I still find it difficult to accept today's pain and anxiety with any great degree of serenity - as those more advanced in the spiritual life seem able to do - I can give thanks for present pain nevertheless. I find the willingness to do this by contemplating the lessons learned from past suffering - lessons which have led to the blessings I now enjoy. I can remember how the agonies of alcoholism, the pain of rebellion and thwarted pride, have often led me to God's grace, and so to a new freedom." GRAPEVINE, MARCH 1962 *~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~* "But my friend sat before me, and he made the pointblank declaration that God had done for him what he could not do for himself. His human will had failed. Doctors had pronounced him incurable. Society was about to lock him up. Like myself, he had admitted complete defeat. Then he had, in effect, been raised from the dead, suddenly taken from the scrap heap to a level of life better than the best he had ever known!" Alcoholics Anonymous 4th EditionBill's Story, pg. 11 *^Twenty Four Hours A Day^* A.A. Thought for the Day Fellowship is a big part of staying sober. The doctors call it group therapy. We never go to an A.A. meeting without taking something out of it. Sometimes we don't feel like going to a meeting and we think of excuses for not going. But we usually end up by going anyway and we always get some lift out of every meeting. Meetings are part of keeping sober. And we get more out of a meeting if we try to contribute something to it. Am I contributing my share at meetings? Meditation for the Day "He brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock and established my goings." The first part, "He brought me up out of a horrible pit," means that by turning to God and putting my problems in His hands, I am able to overcome my sins and temptations. "He set my feet upon a rock" means that when I trust God in all things, I have true security. "He established my goings" means that if I honestly try to live the way God wants me to live, I will have God's guidance in my daily living. Prayer for the Day I pray that my feet may be set upon a rock. I pray that I may rely on God to guide my comings and goings. Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012 ​ You have 2 Options to Participate in the Transitions Daily Email & Discussion Group:1. Join the Private Announcement Only Google Group TransitionsDaily, send an email to TransitionsDaily@gmail.com with “Join” in the subject line. You will be manually added to the closed Google Group TransitionsDaily.IF YOU ALREADY RECEIVE THE DAILY TOPIC EMAIL, NO ACTION IS NECESSARY ON YOUR PART TO CONTINUE. MORE DETAILS CAN BE FOUND AT https://ift.tt/2f53TEc members of this group cannot be seen by other members or by non-members. You are completely anonymous with no sale or disclosure of membership to other members or the redistribution of emails of any kind. Once you have been added, you will receive a confirmation email. Please allow 24 – 48 hours for entry. You will then receive one topic email daily.2. Join the Transitions Daily Secret Facebook Group, send an email to TransitionsDaily@gmail.com with “Join Facebook Group” in the subject line. Make sure and either send from the email associated with your Facebook account or specify your Facebook email in the message. You will receive an invitation via email to join the secret Facebook group where all discussion takes place. Every day the topic email is also posted in the Secret Facebook group.If your anonymity in regards to other members of the Facebook group is an issue, it is suggested that you create a Facebook personal profile with no personal information, using only your first name and last name initial. Only members of the group are able to see your information. Non-members cannot see your posts or that you are a member. It is suggested that you turn on your notifications to be reminded of new posts.Topics are posted Daily via Email and Facebook!​​​ -- TransitionsDaily.org is an Open A.A. Online Meeting Service #000720350. Did someone forward this message to you? For more Information and to join go to https://ift.tt/1MBbjVt. 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Friday, May 18, 2018

~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~ ​​​^*^*^*^*^ (\ ~~ /) ( \(AA)/ ) (_ /AA\ _) / AA \ ^*^*^*^*^ Sponsor "If we are fooling ourselves, a competent adviser can see this quickly. And, as he skillfully guides us away from our fantasies, we are surprised to find that we have few of the usual urges to defend ourselves against unpleasant truths. In no other way can fear, pride, and ignorance be so readily melted. After a time, we realize that we are standing firm on a brand-new foundation for integrity, and we gratefully credit our sponsors, whose advice pointed the way."Bill W., Box 1980: The AA Grapevine, August 1961.As Bill Sees It, p. 248 Thought to Consider . . . A recovering alcoholic without a sponsor is much like leaving Dracula in charge of the blood bank.*~*AACRONYMS*~*C A R D SCall your SponsorAsk for help from your Higher PowerRead the Big BookDo the Twelve StepsStay active in your Group*~*^Just For Today!^*~* Roles From "Action and Patience": "I heard that we can't keep what we have unless we give it away. And so I found a woman someone a little newer than I was and I shared with her what you had shared with me. Looking back on it, I doubt that I helped this woman very much, but I helped myself beyond measure. I stayed sober, day by day, through sharing my experience, strength, and hope with her, through putting action into the A.A. program while, at the same time, waiting for her, not forcing my action on her. This was patience supporting the action, though I didn't call it patience at the time; the word was not a part of my emotional vocabulary." 1973 AAWS, Inc. Came to Believe, 30th printing 2004, pg. 42 *^Daily Reflections^*FREEDOM TO BE ME If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are half way through. We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 83 My first true freedom is the freedom not to have to take a drink today. If I truly want it, I will work the Twelve Steps and the happiness of this freedom will come to me through the Steps - sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. Other freedoms will follow, and inventorying them is a new happiness. I had a new freedom today, the freedom to be me. I have the freedom to be the best me I have ever been. Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC. *~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*Two Roads for the OldtimerThe founders of many groups ultimately divide into two classes known in A.A. slang as "elder statesmen" and "bleeding deacons." The elder statesman sees the wisdom of the group's decision to run itself and holds no resentment over his reduced status. His judgment, fortified by considerable experience, is sound; he is willing to sit quietly on the side lines patiently awaiting developments.The bleeding deacon is just as surely convinced that the group cannot get along without him. He constantly connives for re-election to office and continues to be consumed with self-pity. Nearly every oldtimer in our Society has gone through this process in some degree. Happily, most of them survive and live to become elder statesmen. They become the real and permanent leadership of A.A.TWELVE AND TWELVE, p. 135*~*^Big Book Quote^*~*"The minute we put our work on a service plane, the alcoholic commences to rely upon our assistance rather than upon God. He clamors for this or that, claiming he cannot master alcohol until his material needs are cared for. Nonsense. Some of us have taken very hard knocks to learn this truth: Job or no job, wife or no wife, we simply do not stop drinking so long as we place dependence upon other people ahead of dependence on God."Alcoholics Anonymous 4th EditionWorking With Others, pg. 98*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*A.A. Thought for the DayWe're in A.A. for two main reasons: to keep sober ourselves and to help others to keep sober. It's a well known fact that helping others is a big part of keeping sober yourself. It's also been proved that it's very hard to keep sober all by yourself. A lot of people have tried it and failed. They come to a few A.A. meetings and then stay sober alone for a few months, but usually they eventually get drunk. Do I know that I can't stay sober successfully alone? Meditation for the DayLook by faith into that place beyond space or time where God dwells and whence you came and to which you shall eventually return. "Look unto Him and be saved." To look beyond material things is within the power of everyone's imagination. Faith's look saves you from despair. Faith's look saves you from worry and care. Faith's look brings a peace beyond all understanding. Faith's look brings you all the strength you need. Faith's look gives you a new and vital power and a wonderful peace and serenity. Prayer for the DayI pray that I may have faith's look. I pray that by faith I may look beyond the now to eternal life.Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012 ​​ You have 2 Options to Participate in the Transitions Daily Email & Discussion Group:1. Join the Private Announcement Only Google Group TransitionsDaily, send an email to TransitionsDaily@gmail.com with “Join” in the subject line. You will be manually added to the closed Google Group TransitionsDaily.IF YOU ALREADY RECEIVE THE DAILY TOPIC EMAIL, NO ACTION IS NECESSARY ON YOUR PART TO CONTINUE. MORE DETAILS CAN BE FOUND AT https://ift.tt/2f53TEc members of this group cannot be seen by other members or by non-members. You are completely anonymous with no sale or disclosure of membership to other members or the redistribution of emails of any kind. Once you have been added, you will receive a confirmation email. Please allow 24 – 48 hours for entry. You will then receive one topic email daily.2. Join the Transitions Daily Secret Facebook Group, send an email to TransitionsDaily@gmail.com with “Join Facebook Group” in the subject line. Make sure and either send from the email associated with your Facebook account or specify your Facebook email in the message. You will receive an invitation via email to join the secret Facebook group where all discussion takes place. Every day the topic email is also posted in the Secret Facebook group.If your anonymity in regards to other members of the Facebook group is an issue, it is suggested that you create a Facebook personal profile with no personal information, using only your first name and last name initial. Only members of the group are able to see your information. Non-members cannot see your posts or that you are a member. It is suggested that you turn on your notifications to be reminded of new posts.Topics are posted Daily via Email and Facebook!​​​ -- TransitionsDaily.org is an Open A.A. Online Meeting Service #000720350. Did someone forward this message to you? For more Information and to join go to https://ift.tt/1MBbjVt. Feel free to share https://ift.tt/1MBbjVt in meetings, with friends, sponsors, and especially your sponsees in recovery! You can also download the Transitions Daily Flyer by clicking on this link https://ift.tt/1MBbjVv to use in your service work! 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~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~^*^*^*^*^(\ ~~ /)( \(AA)/ )(_ /AA\ _)/AA\^*^*^*^*^Anonymity"We have denied ourselves personal government, professionalism, and the right to say who our members shall be. We have abandoned do-goodism, reform, and paternalism. We refuse charitable money and prefer to pay our own way. We will cooperate with practically everybody, yet we decline to marry our Society to anyone. We abstain from public controversy and will not quarrel among ourselves about those things that so rip society asunder - religion, politics, and reform. We have but one purpose; to carry the A.A. message to the sick alcoholic who wants it."Bill W., The Language of the Heart, p. 211 Thought to Consider . . .A.A. is not something you join, it's a way of life.*~*AACRONYMS*~*A N O N Y M O U SActions Not Our Names Yield Maintenance Of Unity & Service *~*^Just For Today!^*~* Psychology From "Medicine Looks at Alcoholics Anonymous": "As excuse-makers and rationalizers, we drunks are champions. It is the business of the psychiatrist to get behind our excuses and to find the deeper causes for our conduct. Though uninstructed in psychiatry, we can, after a little time in A.A., see that our motives have not been what we thought they were and that we have been motivated by forces unknown to us. Therefore we ought to look with the deepest respect, interest, and profit upon the findings of psychiatry, remembering that up to now the psychiatrists have been far more tolerant of us than we have been of them."Bill W. 2001 AAWS, Inc. Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg. 236 *^Daily Reflections^*WALKING THROUGH FEAR If we still cling to something we will not let go, we ask God to help us be willing. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 76 When I had taken my Fifth Step, I became aware that all my defects of character stemmed from my need to feel secure and loved. To use my will alone to work on them would have been trying obsessively to solve the problem. In the Sixth Step I intensified the action I had taken in the first three Steps - meditating on the Step by saying it over and over, going to meetings, following my sponsor's suggestions, reading and searching within myself. During the first three years of sobriety I had a fear of entering an elevator alone. One day I decided I must walk through this fear. I asked for God's help, entered the elevator, and there in the corner was a lady crying. She said that since her husband had died she was deathly afraid of elevators. I forgot my fear and comforted her. This spiritual experience helped me to see how willingness was the key to working the rest of the Twelve Steps to recovery. God helps those who help themselves. Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC. *~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*The Way of Strength"We need not apologize to anyone for depending upon the Creator. We have good reason to disbelieve those who think spirituality is the way of weakness. For us, it is the way of strength. The verdict of the ages is that men of faith seldom lack courage. They trust their God. So we never apologize for our belief in Him demonstrate, through us, what He can do."ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, P. 68*~*^Big Book Quote^*~* "Faith without works was dead, he said. And how appallingly true for the alcoholic! For if an alcoholic failed to perfect and enlarge his spiritual life through work and self-sacrifice for others, he could not survive the certain trials and low spots ahead. If he did not work, he would surely drink again, and if he drank, he would surely die. Then faith would be dead indeed. With us it is just like that."Alcoholics Anonymous 4th EditionBill's Story, pg. 14*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^* A.A. Thought for the DayWe alcoholics used so little self-control when we were drinking, we were so absolutely selfish, that it does us good to give up something once in a while. Using self-discipline and denying ourselves a few things is good for us. At first, giving up liquor is a big enough job for all of us, even with God's help. But later on, we can practice self-discipline in other ways to keep a firm grip on our minds so that we don't start any wishful thinking. If we daydream too much, we'll be in danger of slipping. Am I practicing enough self-discipline? Meditation for the DayIn material things, you must rely on your own wisdom and that of others. In spiritual things, you cannot rely so much on your own wisdom as on God's guidance. In dealing with personalities, it is a mistake to step out too much on your own. You must try to be guided by God in all human relationships. You cannot accomplish much of value in dealing with people until God knows you are ready. You alone do not have the power or wisdom to put things right between people. You must rely on God to help you in these vital matters.Prayer for the DayI pray that I may rely on God in dealing with people's problems. I pray that I may try to follow His guidance in all personal relationships. Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012 You have 2 Options to Participate in the Transitions Daily Email & Discussion Group:1. Join the Private Announcement Only Google Group TransitionsDaily, send an email to TransitionsDaily@gmail.com with “Join” in the subject line. You will be manually added to the closed Google Group TransitionsDaily.IF YOU ALREADY RECEIVE THE DAILY TOPIC EMAIL, NO ACTION IS NECESSARY ON YOUR PART TO CONTINUE. MORE DETAILS CAN BE FOUND AT https://ift.tt/2f53TEc members of this group cannot be seen by other members or by non-members. You are completely anonymous with no sale or disclosure of membership to other members or the redistribution of emails of any kind. Once you have been added, you will receive a confirmation email. Please allow 24 – 48 hours for entry. You will then receive one topic email daily.2. Join the Transitions Daily Secret Facebook Group, send an email to TransitionsDaily@gmail.com with “Join Facebook Group” in the subject line. Make sure and either send from the email associated with your Facebook account or specify your Facebook email in the message. You will receive an invitation via email to join the secret Facebook group where all discussion takes place. Every day the topic email is also posted in the Secret Facebook group.If your anonymity in regards to other members of the Facebook group is an issue, it is suggested that you create a Facebook personal profile with no personal information, using only your first name and last name initial. Only members of the group are able to see your information. Non-members cannot see your posts or that you are a member. It is suggested that you turn on your notifications to be reminded of new posts.Topics are posted Daily via Email and Facebook!​​​ -- TransitionsDaily.org is an Open A.A. Online Meeting Service #000720350. Did someone forward this message to you? For more Information and to join go to https://ift.tt/1MBbjVt. Feel free to share https://ift.tt/1MBbjVt in meetings, with friends, sponsors, and especially your sponsees in recovery! You can also download the Transitions Daily Flyer by clicking on this link https://ift.tt/1MBbjVv to use in your service work! To Donate Go to: https://ift.tt/1LFEb4b To unsubscribe, it is best to email us at TransitionsDaily@gmail.com with your request.